Animal Behavior

1. Animal Behavior

2. Content • Introduction • Social Structure • Social Behavior • Individual Behavior • Mystery of Dolphin Suicide

3. Introduction • Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. • The family Delphinidae is the largest in the Cetacean order • Most dolphins have acute eyesight, both in and out of the water, and they can hear frequencies ten times or more above the upper limit of adult human hearing

4. Social Structure • Bottlenose dolphins live in groups called pods • A pod is a coherent long-term social unit. • The size of a pod varies significantly with its composition. On the west coast of Florida, mean pod size is about seven animals • In the wild, pod composition and structure are based largely on age, sex, and reproductive condition  •  There may be a social hierarchy within a group of bottlenose dolphins

5. Social behavior •  Dolphins in a pod appear to establish strong social bonds. Behavioral studies suggest that certain animals prefer association with each other and recognize each other after periods of separation. Field observations suggest that mother-calf bonds are long-lasting. • Dolphins often show aggression by scratching one another with their teeth, leaving superficial lacerations that soon heal . Traces of light parallel stripes remain on the skin of the dolphin. These marks have been seen in virtually all species of dolphins. Dolphins also show aggression by emitting bubble clouds from their blowholes

6. Individual behavior •  Dolphins have been seen jumping as high as 4.9 m from the surface of the water and landing on their backs or sides, in a behavior called a breach. • Both young and old dolphins chase one another, carry objects around, toss seaweed to one another, and use objects to solicit interaction. Such activity may be practice for catching food.

7. Mystery of Dolphin Suicide • 79 Dolphins did suicide their selves in sea sure in south of Iran, in a place on North east of Persian golf . People there attempted to save them and pushed some of them to the sea but they back again and killed their selves. What that means, animal and suicide!!!!

8. Birds of a feather, flock together A flock exhibits many contrasts. • Made up from a group of individual birds. • The overall motion of the group seems fluid. • It seems randomly arrayed and yet is magnificently synchronized. • Perhaps most puzzling is the strong impression of intentional, centralized control. • However all evidence indicates that flock motion must be merely the aggregate result of the actions of individual animals, each acting solely on the basis of its own local perception of the world.

9. Birds of a feather, flock together • Generally random motion • If a bird sees one of its own kind, it will get near it • If a bird gets close to objects in their environment, it will go away • …to other similarbirdit will move away • If a bird gets close enough to a different type of bird, it will attack it! • If a bird is attacked by more than one bird, it will run away

10. Group behaviour of birds Since there is the possibility of getting close to other birds, these rules lead into a group behaviour. - This flocking behaviour is actually the sum of several smaller behaviours.

11. Group behavioural rules: • The bird will match velocity with neighbouring birds • The bird will move toward centre of group of neighbouring birds • Flocks seem to consist of two balanced, opposing behaviours: a desire to stay close to the flock and a desire to avoid collisions within the flock. • The basic urge to join a flock seems to be the result of evolutionary pressure from several factors: • Protection from predators • Better ability to find food • Social and mating activities

12. Flocks do not become "overloaded" as new birds join. A bird is aware of three categories: • Itself • Its two or three nearest neighbours • The rest of the flock